Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton elected to Baseball Hall of Fame; Gary Sheffield falls short

[Ely Sussman]

Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the BBWAA, as announced on Tuesday night. They'll join revered manager Jim Leyland in HOF's Class of 2024. Unfortunately, former Marlins great Gary Sheffield missed the cut in what was his 10th and final year on the BBWAA ballot.

Read Alex Carver's take on Sheffield's snub.

Sheffield played parts of six seasons for the then-Florida Marlins from 1993-1998, contributing to their first-ever World Series title. He continues to hold franchise records for highest career on-base percentage (.426) and weighted runs created-plus (155) among players who had at least 1,000 plate appearances as Marlins. Oh yeah, and he played another 2,018 games with seven other MLB teams and was a great presence in the heart of their lineups, too.

Sheffield's next chance to get into Cooperstown could come in December 2025 when the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee convenes again. He'll have to receive at least 75% support from the 16-person committee, comprised of members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, executives, and veteran media members.

[Brock Beauchamp]

A raw deal for Sheffield. He never should have gotten to this point and should have been elected years ago.